Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 121(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 121(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
The ambiguity of his words was like a weight in my stomach. Before I could press further, he shifted the conversation back to the words I’d heard on almost every call, repeating them as if they were a mantra between us. They twisted in my mind, an enigma I couldn't grasp.
“I don't understand,” I admitted, frustration bleeding into my words.
“You do,” he insisted gently. “Think hard, Winter. We've been here before.” His prompt sent me spiraling back through memories, searching for a conversation lost in the haze of our shared past.
And there it was, a moment from years ago, a conversation steeped in what I had assumed was mere childhood fantasy.
“What happens if I do what you want?” I asked, the reflection now vivid in my mind's eye.
His response came back cheerfully, disarmingly so. “Then we go home.”
“Home?” The word felt foreign on my tongue.
“Yes, home. I know you’ll be happy there,” he said with conviction. “You'll come with me, to the world I've embraced.”
“And if I don't?” My voice was small, almost lost beneath the weight of his expectations.
His laughter, a sound I would normally find comforting, now sent shivers down my spine. “Then I'll take you, even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming. Being without you isn't an option anymore, Winter. I can't function; I can't think. Watching you through a lens and from a distance—it's not enough. I'm too fucking obsessed with you. I need you.”
The declaration was raw, intense, and unequivocal. It left no room for doubt, no space for me to question the depth of his confession. In his world, in his mind, we were inextricably linked—a bond forged in darkness and sealed with blood. Whether I liked it or not, it was a bond he intended to honor until the very end.
“So, I don’t really have a choice.”
“Of course you do.” He stroked my head and gently eased back, allowing me the space to turn around but keeping me trapped between his solid body and the table.
“If you choose not to do this, I'll fulfill your part for you. It’s no big deal for me, but Mara's blood will be on your hands.” His words were sharp, a blade poised at the heart of our dilemma.
“You’re going to use my best friend against me?”
“If that’s what bothers you the most out of all the things I’ve done tonight, I’m going to fall even more in madness with you.”
.” He reached down and took hold of my face. “And that isn’t your best friend. I am.”
“Friendship isn’t declared, Lucian.”
“We’ve been more than that for a long time, Winny. And that wasn’t the point,” he retorted casually. “You won't need her anymore. I'm going to be your everything. I allowed the friendship to continue only so you weren't alone. That’s over now.”
His words could easily sever the ties to my old life with surgical precision.
I knew that defiance would only draw us deeper into this quicksand. I took a deep breath, steadying myself as I looked up into his masked face.
“I know what I have to do.”
It wasn't agreement or acceptance, but a recognition of the reality I had to face.
CHAPTER SIX
The echo of Lucian's assurance that he would be watching clung to me as I exited the library. The priority was clear: find something, anything, that could serve as a weapon in this perverse game of survival.
The once merry Christmas tunes now served as a haunting accompaniment through the deserted corridors, the lights extinguished save for the mocking twinkle of holiday decorations. If I could find the source, I’d shut them off. I’d never hear these tunes the same ever again.
As I came to terms with what was happening, I banished thoughts of my parents, of home, of anything beyond these ancient walls. Now was not the time for sentimentality. I needed to focus on finding the one thing that would be both my salvation and damnation.
I entered the commons area and allowed myself a moment's pause.
Mara might still be alive, if I could believe what Lucian had said. I was choosing to do so for the time being. I didn’t have the mental fortitude to do otherwise. Hearing a noise behind me, I spun around with my heart in my throat.
Liam.
His familiar presence was a momentary relief in the chaos. My composure crumbled at the sight of him, and tears spilled forth, a display of fear that masked my deeper calculations. He rushed forward and wrapped me in a firm embrace, whispering reassurances.
“Everything's going to be okay. I’m so glad I found you again. I found a way out that’s not blocked off.”
“You found a way out? Why the hell are you still here then?” I asked, voice muffled against his chest.
He pulled back, his green eyes locking onto mine.
“I couldn't leave without you.”